Seattle daily post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, W.T. [Wash.]) 1881-1888, 1887-05-04
IHE LATE ALEX. MITCHELL.
Secret Of the Railway Mag
mates success I'm Life.
A Pisnssr worker n TIE Develop
nest sf TIE Northwest : His Deal
iass IN wndsss currssey
Before the war.
fGafh q ~ Rnnnlr.r.1

another brief chat | had With him In
The city Of New York - lang as ten
years aQo. Thoueh be besonesd 70 thu
Democrats party, be had exercised
POWERS hardly possessed b. q pasted
Prince IN modern tines In the way Of
controlling railroads ard Issuing money.
first ss8 him Ia the CITY Of Milwazkse.
where be had 9 general of3cs for hnan-
eieFinR. speculatine and banking undeT
the name Of railroad Office. Il seems
that, prior - the civil var. ghsn the
States northwest Of ChicaRo we're IN
their Infancy, Mitchell, andsR the State
laws and in she absence Of National
currency, had bsen ilttls more than the
aisiribatoF Of bis private notes broad
east under the nans Of public earFeney.
Thig power, which vas demied 20 the
Bank Of the Unitsd States By President
Jackson and bis successors, bad 81 last
settled 10 the hands Of che man. whose
e1Frensy covered Q region Of eountEy
probably more powerful than the Uuited
States under Jsskson's Administration
Nothing upheld Il bat the
STABILITY or MITCHELL
In his general operations; bis currency
may have depreeiatsd, and be may havs
been himself SPECTATOR In lie values,
bat IL vas maintained With fsEes Of
chaFaster snd bold outlook eMd aaper.
visisn, sueh as only individual men pos
seBs under false political conditions.
He suggested 10 the iooksf-on that
other 6eotohman, Law, who undertook
10 Issue for Francs vast irredeemable
currency baeed apon The prospective re-
tsfns fFSm Louisiana, which Louisiana
really meant land In the nsW world
almost aa far up a. Mr.. Mitchell'a do
main. John Law, Ia the superficial his
tories, u put down a. somethinR ef an
adventureF. He probably vas 9 more
conscientious nan than Alexander
Mitchell. He had the strongest rudi-
nonta Of the financial system In his
mind. bat unfortunately be had been
deceived By The accounts which reached
him Of the mineral treasures OF Missouri
and Arkansas. He had In his hand the
true system Of banking. bat France and
her colonies we're not Ia Q condition 20
sustain hia scheme with regular returns
of treasure and pFoduee.
All baking 10 bottomed upon normal
probabilities Of things being good, IN
the same way that all healthy enter
prise IL based upon the probability Of
ones income derived from thia or that
continuing ouwaFd. The simple man,
Who contributes only his labor to bis
country. has no other care on bis mind
than the 0ollecsi8n Of bis wages. Next
above him IL the apeBdthrift, who aecu.
mulatea nothing for himself, bat BY his
talents Keeps money moving, so that the
eufmudee0ns and merchants can aocu
mulate 70. Dat Of this rank, or the next
above that OF men OF talent as we'll as
Investment, come the
ACTIVITIES AND PowKRs OF A HATToz.
He who Ia making $4,000 a year With
sutheieht regularity to give him assur.
anoe may venture upon building or ao
curing so 600 worth Of something for
real end. The failures Of the wsFld
often OCCUR out Of the revenues Of such
being oue Oh by some unexpected aoci-
dent OF bad health or bad times. That Is
Why men Of property are opposed 10 var
OF almost anything WATCH produces a
change In the working methods OF
thinga.
A little epidemic, or q oFazg King, or
. bad population on some frontier, OF
even the introduction OF a new sect
whioh refuses 10 wear clothes, may alter
the commercial nature Of a great eoun
try. Changes OF every sort are decried
Dy ene careful population. Even the
introduction OF Christianity was met
~ more intelligent hostility, because Il
threatened great changes. than was the
lntroduotion OF Islamism, because the
latter offered immediate employment in
war tnFouRh the conscientious fanatic
tsm OF men. Jesna plainly said: 81 come
not 10 maintain. bat TO DESTROY Mo-
hammed said the same thing, bat he
added eFaftilys what destroy | shall
give away 10 yon." Jesus said 20 the
rich man" Go and sell all thai thou
hast and give 10 the poor, and come and
tramp after me-" Mohammed Raid,
non Arabs have n general system that
brings you any relief or uaQnihpsnce.
will assemble 700 under nv ~ tenn
which IL also revelation, and let Won
loose upon the crowns and women OF
the EARTH" We often suppose that only
Europe received tue injuries inflicted by
Mohammed. forgetting that
MILLIONS MORE
Than Europe contained OF RELIGIONS
Brahmans and Bud6hlsfs and folIoveFs
OF Oonfucius and Of the Are voFshipera
suffered infinitely more than Euro
peana.
With this deviation NAV come bach
20 say shat banking IL either hssIthV
institution or an empirical experiment.
according 10 the quality Of the people
and their wealth who sustain H. M.
Mitchell found the North western States
rather colony OF America, and the
natien itself rather neRlectiug H. own
constitutional provisions 90 give the
people money. The south and East
we're the only great sections when be
developed In the Northwest.
~ bad been laid down 10 the Jealous
lee OF jefferson that the United States
ought not 20 have any money et to de
pend upon, because Alexander Hamil-
ton bad conceived bank Sc they had
sub Treasury witksut any bank aud
banks all over the States without anv
REVISING bank or guardian Of currency.
In that way Mitchell. whose public
talents we're far beneath tha reputation
obtained BY bis wealth, became
osn or TIE RlcHnsr MxH
Ever seen in any new country. To looh
~, be was like ten thousand other
Scutchmen. 9th q robustness soon 90
ina into sofi grayness; With fattish
ness IN which we're buried nights cal
ents fer laying up cash; With an enter
1855 1@1AAANNa akNCAA4AtNA TOT
one Of ice stimuiaiiona. when the Roy-
eminent resumed control 10 It's sun.
and Mr.. Chase resolved upon National
banking system, MitcheIi. whose mind
was probably healthy enouah 90 zee the
bensnt OF the change 10 The people, felt
= personal sournesa. like any ether
Prince whose petty State had been
tsken tato soue majsstie empire. Az
she same time The mes situation soon
adapted itself 10 bis common sense, but
be vas not going 10 SAY 80.
found bim saoae time after The Gree
ley sriit IN the Republican PARTY hold.
tng up one end % q mishev wall ssF, 81
speculation. The Lake 50 re- RailrnAd
vas being raiaed BY scune parties who
had been in its direction. Tue suppo
sitlou vas that Mitchell voala sympA.
thiGs With toe movement, since be had
bis wildcat enterprise With the Mliwaa-
kee Railroad. uhick be VS. narsine
abreast OF toe healthy hAba Of tho
Northwestern Company. Vet, even Al
that time, O was doubtful whether the
old man Woesd not encourage a raid
which he was privately selling cot. As
time advanced. bis property took In the
most daripe gamblers Of the pFessnt
age-the PHI ArmouEs and NorunAn
Raana Ikas warkaa 49, =. a